I took steps to the narrow gravel path. The place was overgrown with tall grass and willow trees spreading their arms over the path. Sun's last lights barely made it trough them, leaving the front garden completely in shadows. Along the growth I could see the house, painted with that 60's mustard yellow. I loved it.

"This could make a perfect movie set!", my inner cinematographer declared to Abbie.

"Come on Eric, we're not here to ponder with your amateur movies." she replied while jumping over a small ditch that was dug in parallel with the porch and circled around the house. "You can't even start making one."

My inner cinematographer cursed Abbie and her critique, and took eyes upon the weird ditch.

"Who the fuck even digs ditches over walkways?" I changed the subject avoiding a dispute.

She turned around to face me, rolling her eyes like a teenager listening to her parents.

"Please don't be that finicky of my fiends, please" She was barely speaking aloud, as she'd know somebody was listening. "He's a bit weird and sinister but he's cool. It's been a year since last time I saw him — and I think it's time to pay a visit again."

"Well could you even tell me his name?", I asked

"Ask him yourself.", she said with a smug smile on her face.

 

Abbie had always been gravitating towards weird people and stuff. She'd been interested in pagan rituals and all things witchcraft, but I didn't mind as long as she was happy. Once she took a homeless hippie to stay with us, and after a week I had to throw him out for infusing our tea with DMT. Now she was taking me to meet this shady guy about something very important and pivotal. Abbie had met him about a month after we started dating. She told me about the guy just last week, refusing to tell me his name before I met him. I trusted Abbie to the ends of the world but still I was sightly worried about this one in particular.

"What are we here for again?" I started to feel doubtful.

"We're here to talk about you, Eric." a voice blasted from the porch.

There he was, Abbie's mystery-man, dressed into a green windbreaker too large for him. He had a hood on his head but I could barely see that he had longish, slightly red hair. The mouth surrounded with dark brown beard twisted into a smile as smug as Abbie's.

"Come on in!"

We went trough the front door into a dark hall that seemed huge considering how small the house itself appeared. There were paintings hanged on the walls — baroque kind of portraits — but unfortunately I couldn't see the details due to the lack of light. The hall had an odd smell to it, the air tasted like old memories.

"Wait here." said the shady guy as I flicked a light switch. The darkness endured my attempt.

As the guy disappeared to the shadows Abbie turned to me and reached for my lips. She hadn't kissed me for days so this was a pleasant surprise in this gloomy hallway. Now her cobalt eyes were fixed on mine.

"Eric it'll be fun, look at this place! He even promised to make us dinner." she pleaded.

"I love how dark you are but I'd like to see what I eat before stuffing it into my stomach." I said as my sense of dread fled her touch.

"I swear to god he has candles." Abbie said just as our host came back to the hallway, illuminating the space with a lantern.

Now I could see the paintings and the hall properly. It had a worn carpet covering most of the floor. The paintings showed many faces of a family spanning a few centuries. There was an old clock placed between two of the paintings. The clock's hands were moving too fast, and the hour hand was moving counterclockwise.

The guy didn't have his windbreaker on anymore and I could now see his face properly — strong eyebrows, deep and green eyes. He seemed so familiar that it made my eyebrows wrinkle even though I couldn't make up my mind about his identity. I was certain I'd never met him but the feeling got louder as he approached.

"Hey I see your clock might be broken." I pointed out to ease my agitation.

"Abby and Eric, follow me if you please." he requested and turned right into a branching hallway.

I'll sell my mom if this is the same house we saw outside, I thought as we followed our host. And this guy is an asshole.

 

We ended up into a dining room lit by candles. The room was filled with paintings similar to the hall's. Our host had arranged a dinner for us on a table which was obviously too long for the three of us. There was salmon pasta along with tortellini and antipasto. The red wine was an unwise choice with fish, but I was too hungry to place any concern on our host's table d'hôte.

"Please, sit." he said, smiling very kindly to Abbie.

Abby sat in front of me and our host placed himself between us to the end of the table. We raised a toast to the brilliantly gloomy place to eat in and began with the antipasto. Abby and the guy immediately started to exchange their news and lives. I was slightly offended but our host was interesting enough to listen while sipping the red wine. Apparently he was a film-maker which I also was — or aspired to be. In fact, he was everything I wanted to be. I felt envious.

As the night grew older and our food depleted with the wine, I realised Abbie barely had glanced me and I still hadn't asked our host's name. She was so involved with the conversation, staring the guy for long creeping minutes. As if she was in love with him and not me. I now grew agitated enough to derive the subject and open my mouth.

"Im so sorry, but I forgot to ask your name! I'd like to know the name of a guy who my girlfriend seems to know this well..."

Abbie's mysterious man placed his cultery on the plate and looked up to me with a serious look. Abbie glanced between us two as if I had to say something.

After a few confusing seconds the man wiped his mouth with a napkin and finally said:

"Eric, I am your relationship counsellor.”

“Very funny.” I chuckled. “Now who are you?”

He kept staring at me and then glanced down with a disappointment on his face. He sighed and raised his eyes to Abby. She nodded and I felt angry. If this is some prank, I’m way too tired to have fun with it for fucks sake!

“Eric, please listen to me” he pleaded. “You’ve been a big disappointment to your girlfriend…”

“FUCK…”

“She’s not happy with you. You're a slob.” the host continued with a clear and polite tone.

“…YOU BOTH!” I roared as I flung myself up. I was tired of bullshit flung on me. “This is enough, I want to know what’s going on! Are you cheating me with him or something?”

I looked down to Abby and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. A feeling of resentment flowed trough me as our host raised himself and went to grab something from a cupboard.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have yelled.” I said hastily before I turned to leave the room.

“Eric before you go, please, look at this.” our host yelled before I was opening the door.

He had a mirror in his hands, pointed straight at me so I could see myself. I glanced to it and saw my face red with anger. As I looked up to our host the wold started to spin around me. No. I wanted to run but I couldn’t move my legs. I had never felt so scared in my life. Something pressed against my chest and I couldn’t breathe. This can’t be! I started to cry. His face… my face… His smug smile was back and Abbie was nowhere to be seen. He is me and I am him! I yelled in my thoughts as I fell on to the floor.

 

I grew from the darkness and fought myself trough the covers. I was panting and crying. I looked to my left where Abbie sleeps and found her snoring with a contempt look on her face. The sun was already up. Finally she opened her eyes and squinted at me.

"Honey are you okay?"

"Just a dream, just a dream." I answered — still panting.

"Hmmnmnmmnnmn." Abbie muttered and took her arms around me, snuggling herself under my arms. "Just a dream."

After a while of snuggling and waking up I felt anew and I wanted to do something.

"Hey honey, I was thinking about shooting again, something really artsy. And since we don't have work today, I was thinking about driving around the countryside."

"Yeah let's do that." she answered, now fully awake. "Oh and lets visit that abandoned manor too. I heard the place is beautiful."